“Considered etymologically, [the word ‘medieval’] assumes that we have to deal with a threefold division of time, a succession of three periods in terms of Hegelian dialectic. Viewed thus, the ‘Middle Ages’ are a transition from antiquity to modern times; but if by that phrase we mean that they form a chronological link between the two, we convey exactly nothing. ‘What age is not the link between what goes before and that which follows? Every age is a “middle age,” and we ourselves shall one day be regarded as medieval by posterity.’ If, on the other hand, we mean to describe an era of preparation, of quest, and of elaboration, which is to perfect the social order, then, it is to be feared that we are still farther from the truth; for the present scene affords scant evidence of progress, in the moral or the social sphere.”
H Daniel-Rops, Cathedral and Crusade, p.6
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